Leyland arm OHM lowest bidder for MTC's 600 new e-bus procurement
Plan includes building charging stations and upgrading depots to handle EV fleet
CHENNAI: OHM Global Mobility Private Limited is likely to win the Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s contract to supply, operate, and maintain 600 new low-floor electric buses, including 400 air-conditioned ones, under the World Bank-funded Chennai City Partnership Programme.
OHM, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility, quoted Rs 83.23 per kilometre, the lowest price among competing companies.
The contract will be finalised under a least-cost selection process, where the bidder offering the most cost-effective rate is chosen. The new buses will be brought in under the Chennai City Partnership Programme, which is supported by the World Bank.
The plan also includes building charging stations and upgrading bus depots to handle the electric fleet. Each bus is expected to run 6,500 kilometres a month for 12 years under a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, where the operator is paid based on the distance covered.
According to officials, four private firms submitted bids for the project: Hyderabad-based EVEY Trans Private Limited, Eagle Construction Co, OHM Global Mobility, and Traveltime Mobility India Private Limited.
The technical bids were opened on June 10. After review, three companies, OHM, EVEY Trans and Traveltime Mobility, qualified for the next round. Eagle Construction was rejected because it did not meet the technical requirements.
The financial bids were then opened on September 15, and OHM emerged as the lowest bidder (L1), ahead of the other two companies EVEY Trans (Rs 85.75/km) and Traveltime Mobility (Rs 87.10/km).
This is not the first time OHM has been chosen to supply electric buses to Chennai. The company was previously awarded a contract to supply 625 electric buses, including 225 air-conditioned ones, as part of the World Bank-supported programme.
OHM was the lowest bidder in that phase, too, quoting Rs 86.91 per kilometre. After negotiations, the company agreed to operate non-air-conditioned buses at Rs 77.16 per kilometre and air-conditioned buses at Rs 80.86 per kilometre.
While the World Bank-funded project is moving ahead, the State is also working on another big plan backed by the German development bank KfW. Two companies, JBM Electric Vehicles Pvt Ltd and Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd, have submitted bids to supply and operate 500 electric buses, including 340 air-conditioned ones. These buses will be deployed not just in Chennai, but also in Coimbatore and Madurai.
MTC currently runs more than 3,500 buses on 659 routes, carrying over 33.6 lakh passengers every day.
